Asia Business Media

This is a BLOG from Mark Cochrane of Business Strategies Group in Hong Kong. We've been keeping a close watch on B2B media and business information in Asia since 2000 and look forward to sharing insights with you.

Seatrade received an
increasing number of withdrawal notifications from its key stakeholders including
delegates, speakers and cruise lines. The organiser says its planned conference
programme can no longer be delivered as scheduled as regional travel
restrictions have been imposed by other Asian countries.

Andrew Williams,
general manager Seatrade, commented, “This decision has not been an easy one
and we have looked into every possibility, however in consultation with the
industry, we feel that this is the most appropriate course of action.”

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News this week: NASDAQ-listed Global
Sources announced this week
that the company plans to launch a cash tender offer for up to US$50 million in
outstanding common shares at US$7.50. That represents a 43% premium over the
closing price on Tuesday (US$5.23). Under the terms of the offer, the company
may buy back as many as 6.67 million common shares or close to 22% of
outstanding shares. According to its financial statement, as of 31st
March 2015, the company had US$103.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Global Sources has
made similar offers three times in the past - buying back US$50 million worth
of shares at US$10 per share in 2014, US$100 million at US$9 per share in 2010
and US$50 million at US$8 per share in 2008.

Merle A. Hinrich, Global
Sources’ executive chairman, said, “I am pleased to announce that after
carefully considering all of the options to return capital to the shareholders,
the Board of Directors has approved a tender offer as the most efficient
alternative at this time. At the close of the transaction, Global Sources will
still have a strong balance sheet, giving us the financial strength to pursue
our growth initiatives and other options to invest in the business.”

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which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
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for all the latest updates.

News this week: Last week, Pico Thailand,
the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East
Holdings, announced its results for the quarter ended 30th April
2015. Revenues in the quarter were US$8.7 million, up 34% over the same quarter
in 2014. The company recorded a net profit of US$380,000 in the period,
compared with a net loss of US$94,000 last year.

Pico Thailand attributed the growth in revenue to its event
marketing business stemming from new customers and an increase in
marketing-budget spending from the existing customers.

Pico Thailand also reported its results for the half-year ended
30th April. Revenues in the six-month period were US$15 million, a modest
increase of 1.1% over the same period last year. The company recorded a net
profit of US$377,000, representing strong growth over the 2014 figure of
US$78,000. Earnings per share in the period were Baht 0.059 (US$0.0018).

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

Among the 1,675 exhibitors from 16 sectors, 811 were
international exhibitors. This year, a total of 24 country and provincial
groups attended the show, including three new national pavilions representing Germany,
Mexico and Turkey. Three supporting shows including World
of Seafood, World of Coffee
& Tea and the World of
FoodService were held concurrently with THAIFEX.

Michael Dreyer, vice president, Asia Pacific, Koelnmesse Pte
Ltd, said, “THAIFEX – World of Food Asia, celebrated our tenth anniversary last
year. This year, we marked a milestone by expanding our fairground, and the
continued growth and encouraging response is solid proof that we are growing in
the right direction that we started out in. This has been very rewarding for Koelnmesse
and our co-organisers, DITP
(Department of International Trade Promotion) and TCC (The Thai Chamber of Commerce).”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: The upcoming 5th edition of The HUB, billed as Asia’s premium brand fashion
trade show, will relocate from Hong Kong to Shanghai this year. The show will
run from 13th to 15th October at Central Studios, to coincide with the Shanghai Fashion Week taking place at
the nearby Xintiandi district.

The HUB in Shanghai will showcase around 40 international brands together
with a selection of leading Chinese designers. Confirmed exhibitors so far include
Boy London, Dienastie from Sweden, Rack & Ruin from the U.K., Swims of
Norway, Flying Zachinnis and Juma from the U.S., along with leading
Beijing-based designers Zhang Chi and Capitale Nord.

Richard Hobbs, co-founder of The HUB, said, “From the outset just two
years ago we knew that at some point we would take The HUB to Mainland China
and now is the right time… From today, China will be reducing import tariffs on
a number of clothing and footwear categories and we can only see more openness
as China makes it easier for brands to import, find buyers and partners.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
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News this week: China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, has signed
a strategic agreement with Shanghai
Media Group (SMG) to serve China’s financial information services industry through
their Internet technology and media resources.

Under the agreement, Alibaba will invest RMB 1.2 billion
(US$194 million) into China Business News (CBN), a Chinese financial media
company under SMG, and launch a financial data and information service company.
The two companies will also jointly develop a comprehensive financial data and
information platform to provide users, especially small- and medium-sized
enterprises, with financial news and information. CBN’s wealth management
information product will launch on Mobile Taobao in the near future.

Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman, Jack Ma, said,
“The era of Data Technology is here and it will surpass the Information
Technology era. The DT era is about transparency, sharing of information and
enabling others. Alibaba is excited about the possibilities of the DT era and
how it can bring value to society.”

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for all the latest updates.

Friday, June 05, 2015

News this week: dmg information
Asia Pacific announced its venture into the Chinese property information
market by investing in Funcent, a data and workflow solutions provider to real
estate valuation companies and commercial banks. No financial details were
disclosed.

Funcent provides a data workflow and price enquiry platform
through its Cloud Appraisal System. According to dmg information, the company
will increase its shareholding in Funcent over the next few years to expand its
business in China, focusing particularly in the commercial real estate market
in Beijing and Shanghai.

Stephen Stout, CEO of dmg information Asia Pacific said, “With
our knowledge of the property markets in other countries and the similarity of
the Funcent products to those provided by other dmg information companies, we
believe we can bring considerable value to the business.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: According to media reports, leading Chinese-language Internet search
provider, Baidu,
has plans to further expand its business in Latin America following the launch
of its search engine in Brazil last
year.

Baidu has reportedly identified Argentina, Chile or Mexico
as possible locations to set up the company’s next Latin American operation.
Baidu will also aim to position itself as a service aggregator to replace disparate
mobile-based apps and create a single platform to offer the services.

Baidu will reportedly rely on acquisitions or form
partnerships with local services providers for its expansion plans. In October
2014, Baidu completed an acquisition
in Brazil for online group buying platform, Peixe Urbano, for an undisclosed sum.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week:
The Philippines’ Visayas region is scheduled to receive its first major
convention centre with the opening of SMX Convention Center in Cebu by 2017.
The size and capacity of the new venue has yet to be determined. Construction will reportedly begin in August
2015.

SMX Convention Centre will become a part of a new development built on
reclaimed land that is modelled on Manila’s Mall of Asia. The new development
will also include a hotel and an indoor arena for sports, concert and other
events.

According to Dexter Deyto, vice president and general manager of SMX Convention Specialists, the new venue
will join the group’s existing portfolio of trade halls which include other
convention centres in Manila, Bonifacio Global City, Davao and Bacolod.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.

News this week: Earlier this week, the Center for
Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its index report on the first quarter
performance of the U.S. exhibition industry. The U.S. exhibition industry grew 4.6%
year-on-year to record an eight year high.

All four metrics of CEIR’s index, net square feet sold,
number of exhibitors, number of attendees, and revenues, recorded growth. Growth
of revenues led the index recording an increase of 7.3% year-on-year. This was
followed by growth in net square feet sold of 4.1%, number of attendees by 3.7%,
and a 3.3% growth in number of exhibitors.

CEIR President & CEO Brian Casey, CEM, was quoted, “We
are very encouraged to see that the exhibition industry is continuing its
upward climb. While industry growth has been moderate, the strong performance
of Q1 is certainly offering positive indicators for the near future.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter
which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website
to find out more about this service.You can also follow us on Twitter
for all the latest updates.